Bangladesh has requested India to take back around 100 elephants that had allegedly strayed into its territory two years ago, warning that otherwise they might be eliminated.

The Wildlife Society of Bangladesh, in a statement yesterday, urged the Government of India to immediately take back 100 Indian elephants staying in Gozni area in Sherpur district for the last two years, media reports said in Dhaka today.

The Society cautioned that unless India takes back these elephants, Bangladesh has the right to eliminate or destroy them with cooperation from the international community as the country does not have the capacity to keep the animals, the Independent newspaper reported.

President of WSB Professor Kazi Zaker Hossain, in his statement, quoted local people as saying that these elephants came to Gozni area nearly two years ago. "The elephants used to come from Garo Hill area in India in the evening and after overnight stay return the following morning," he quoted the local people as saying.

But the creation of a highway and the cutting of bushes on the other side made it difficult for them to return. As a result, the elephants lost their way and stayed inside Bangladesh, the statement said.

The number of elephants came to be known from a study conducted jointly by the Bangladesh Forest Department and the Fish and Wildlife Services of USA.

"The stranded elephants were destroying trees, roads, and houses and were injuring many citizens," claimed Hossain.

More reports from Bangladesh